Politics

Uganda’s Museveni to become leader of Non-Aligned Movement

Published

5 months ago

November 18, 2023

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni will succeed President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan as head of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)— the second-largest group of nations after the United Nations.

The East African nation will also host the NAM Summit in Kampala in January 2024 and then go on to chair the Global South Association of 120 countries from January 2024 to January 2026.

Speaking on his country’s preparedness to host the summit, during the week, the chairperson of the National Organising Committee, Lucy Nakyobe said the focus would be on bringing together leaders from around the world to address pressing global issues and foster cooperation among member nations.

Despite recent travel warning issued by the US and UK embassies due to concerns about terrorism in the nation which has also fallen out with Western powers over its legislation against the LGBTQ community, she reassured the world that Uganda remained safe.

“I assure you all that the country is secure and ready to receive the international visitors coming in January. We are ready for our guests. But I still call upon the general public to remain vigilant,” Nakyobe said.

Museveni emphasised that, because of its neutrality on global matters, his nation was the ideal host. As it did in the 11th Emergency Session of the UN General Assembly vote on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, 31 African nations supported a resolution stating the “Principles of the UN Charter” and calling for a “comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine.” Uganda abstained in the vote which saw 141 member states vote in favour, seven voting against, and 32 abstaining.

ICT and National Guidance Minister, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi announced that Uganda would also host the G77 + China conference from January 20 to 23, 2024, one day after hosting the NAM.

During a recent visit to Uganda in May, Pedroso Cuesta Pedro Luis, the chairman of the Group of 77 (G77) countries, confirmed that Uganda was prepared to host the Third Summit.

The South Summit is the Group of 77’s highest decision-making body. The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 forced the postponement of the First and Second South Summits, which took place in Havana, Cuba, and Doha, Qatar, respectively.

Amidst the challenges posed by emerging power centres that deviate from the conventional global blocs, the summit will facilitate discourse and analysis on common interests. Some perceive the hosting rights as an indication of Africa’s increasing influence on the international arena.

Related Topics:Featured Uganda Yoweri Museveni

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Politics

African leaders want record World Bank financing to address climate change

Published

1 day ago

April 29, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Ahead of a World Bank conference scheduled for later this year, African leaders on Monday called for rich countries to commit to record contributions to a low-interest World Bank facility for developing nations.

The leaders stressed that most African countries depend on the fund to sponsor development and combat climate change.

At a meeting in Japan in December, donors will promise to give money to the International Development Association (IDA), a World Bank organization that gives loans with low-interest rates and long terms.

“We call on our partners to meet us at this historic moment of solidarity and respond effectively by increasing their IDA contributions… to at least $120 billion,” Kenya’s President William Ruto told a meeting of African leaders and the World Bank to discuss IDA funding.

African economies were facing a “deepening development and debt crisis that threatens our economic stability, and urgent climate emergencies that demand immediate and collective action for our planet’s survival,” Ruto said.

He talked about the terrible floods in Kenya and the serious drought in Southern African countries like Malawi. If donors promise the least amount that African leaders have asked for, it will be a new high.

The previous high was $93 billion, which was raised in 2021. IDA loans are given out every three years, and donors usually give their money at a world meeting before the loan is given out.

The World Bank said that IDA lends money to 75 poor countries around the world at low interest rates. More than half of these countries are in Africa. Governments use the money to improve access to healthcare and energy, put money into farms, and build important things like roads.

The president of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, promised to cut down on the “burdensome” rules that guide lending to countries under the IDA. This would make the process more efficient and get money to countries that need it more quickly.

“We believe a simpler and reimagined IDA can be deployed with more focus to make a meaningful impact,” he said.

Politics

Burkina Faso investigating reports of northern killings

Published

2 days ago

April 28, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A government spokesman has revealed that Burkina Faso is looking into reports that 223 people were killed by the Burkinabe army in two villages in the north in February.

The killing was first reported by the Human Rights Watch (HRW), causing a rift between the junta-led West African state and some foreign media that published the report. The HRW report released on Thursday said that the military had executed residents of Nodin and Soro, including at least 56 children, as part of a campaign against civilians suspected of working with jihadist terrorists. The report was based on interviews with witnesses, members of civil society, and other groups.

Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo, a spokesman for the government, said that HRW’s claims were “peremptory” and that the junta was not unwilling to look into the claimed crimes.

“An investigation has been launched into the killings in Nodin and Soro,” Ouedraogo said in a late-evening statement, quoting a statement from a regional prosecutor on March 1.

Since Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger’s militaries took over in a series of coups from 2020 to 2023, violence in the area has gotten worse. This is because of the ten-year fight with Islamist groups related to Al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Attacks on Burkina Faso got much worse in 2023, with more than 8,000 people killed, according to the U.S.-based crisis-monitoring group ACLED.